Welcome to Lily Belli on Food, a weekly food-focused newsletter from Lookout’s food and drink correspondent, Lily Belli. Keep reading for the latest local food news for Santa Cruz County – plus a few fun odds and ends from my own life and around the web.
… As promised by owners Julianna Mireles and chef Desmond Schneider, Mane Kitchen & Cocktails opened in the former Betty’s Eat Inn in downtown Santa Cruz on schedule on Halloween night.
The co-owners have been working around the clock for less than two months to transform the burger joint into an Art Deco-inspired restaurant and lounge with an oyster bar. The end result is a relaxed but upscale destination that they hope will “elevate the downtown vibe,” Schneider told me in early October, as well as complement nearby restaurants Hook & Line and Oswald.
Mane Kitchen & Cocktails is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m., with a dinner menu that offers bold bistro-style small plates and entrees, including chicken liver pâté with pink peppercorns ($17), a wedge salad with blue cheese ($20), and mussels served with caponata ($35). Last week, I attended a special friends and family night pre-opening, where I enjoyed one of the most crisp and balanced martinis of my life, and a showstopper French onion soup ($18) with a miniature grilled cheese “crouton” that splashed into the rich broth.
I’ll come back in a few weeks once they get their feet under them for a full review. More info at manekc.com.
… One of Santa Cruz’s most successful collaborations is coming to an end. Lalita Kaewsawang’s pop-up Hanloh has been creating dynamic Thai dishes at Bad Animal Books since October 2022, but after three years, the two businesses are parting ways. Kaewsawang’s last day in the kitchen is Dec. 14.
The decision seems amicable, and it’s not a total surprise. Bad Animal refers to the resident chef as the “culinary artist in residence,” implying that cooks will rotate in and out of the used book store and natural wine bar’s kitchen. Kaewsawang’s tenure went on longer than the other two former chefs – Katherine Stern, who opened The Midway in Santa Cruz in 2024, and Todd Parker, who was the opening chef before later starting Midtown’s Bookie’s Pizza, have both headed the kitchen – and I had begun to wonder whether or not the relationship had become permanent.
They certainly had a good thing going, and racked up some notable accolades, including features on KQED, in Food & Wine magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others. Last year, the food critic at the Los Angeles Times named the Bad Animal/Hanloh collab one of the best 100 restaurants in California.
Kaewsawang told me last week that she plans to take a few months off to spend time with her family before planning her next endeavor. Andrew Sivak, the co-owner of Bad Animal, told me that it’s not quite ready to make an announcement about its next collaboration, but when it does, I – and you – will be the first to know.
… There’s a new sweet spot in the food court at the Capitola Mall. Spontaneous Confections, locally run by pastry chef Justin Lenorovitz and his wife, Stephanie Lenorovitz, offers pastries and desserts on Mondays and Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. with treats like mini fruit-filled tarts, fudge brownies with lavender ganache, and lemon “moukie,” a combination between a French-style mousse and a madeleine cookie.
Spontaneous Confections joins other locally owned food vendors Dani O Bakeshop, Ramen Kaito and Taquizas Gabriel.
… More than 35,000 people in Santa Cruz County are grappling with a disruption to their Supplemental Nutrition Program Assistance funds. Local food banks have braced for a surge in demand from those unable to access their benefits, and restaurants, businesses and community groups have also stepped up to provide support.
Lookout’s Cecilia Schutz compiled a list of food pantries and restaurant meals available to those seeking food assistance, and Lookout staff members are updating it regularly. Check it out here.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
After six years revitalizing a once-weathered Santa Cruz bar into the beloved “five-star dive” Mission West, owners Max Turigliatto and Grant Staudt say they have sold the Westside spot to new owners, who will take over in January following a final New Year’s Eve celebration. Here’s the story.
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
Wine & Roses, an annual fundraiser for Community Health Trust’s programs in the Pajaro Valley, is this Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Crosetti Hall at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds outside Watsonville. Guests can taste rare wines, including double-magnum bottles from local wineries, and bid on auction items, such as international getaways and other exclusive experiences. Tickets are $100 each, or $180 for a pair.
LIFE WITH THE BELLIS
Halloween night was such a fun evening for our family. We went trick-or-treating in the lower Westside area in Santa Cruz with the families of some of my 4-year-old son Marco’s friends from school. With so many organized trick-or-treat events nearby, including downtown Santa Cruz and the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, I wondered if there would be enough kids and houses for some good ol’ fashioned door-knocking in the neighborhood.
And there was! Marco and his friends were so excited racing from lit doorway to lit doorway that us parents had to partially jog to keep up with them. Cecilia, 2 years old, went a little more slowly. The adults stayed warm by sipping a witch’s brew I brought to share (bourbon, lemon juice, apple cider and maple syrup).
Marco and Ceci munched on candy while we were out, and back home they got to eat three more pieces. The next day they ate a few, but they have already seemed to lose interest in their Halloween haul. I’ve polished off a few pieces myself, and I usually save the rest for little treats (and bribes) for the next few months. Now, onto the holidays!
FOOD NEWS WORTH READING
➤ Move over, Starbucks. While the Seattle-based giant once ruled the U.S. coffee scene, new players like Dutch Bros are capturing younger consumers with their drive-thru model, flashy customizable drinks and social-media energy, and reshaping how America sips its caffeine fix. (Wall Street Journal/$)
➤ Old-school restaurants in San Francisco aren’t fading away. In fact, some of them are having their best years in decades. Diners are packing restaurants like House of Prime Rib, Bix and Brazen Head, which offer customers nostalgia, traditional service, red meat and stiff drinks. (San Francisco Standard)